Toggle switch



J n 18, 1929. p. R. FOWN' TOGGLE SWITCH Filed Sept.v 29, 1927 PatentedJune 18, 1929.

UNITED STATES- PATENT-OFFICE.

rams-n roman, or Runway; new JERSEY, nssionon To NATIONAL rnnunarrc com-ANY, on NEW runs, 1:. Y., A conrolm'rrolvor wns'r vmemm.

' TOGGLE SWITCH.

Application filed September This invention relates to a toggle or over center switch.' '1 y i f One of theobjects of this invention is the provision of a switch having'an operatmg 5 member and a switch :arm arranged so that the switch arm is not operated the opemtingamember is moved past-the center of its path of movement.

A turther object ofthis invention is 19 provision of a switch of this type in which -the contact arm and contacts are so con-j structed as to provide wiping contact there between. 1 A y ,A still-further object of thisinvention the provision of a toggle switch having double contacts for the purpose of reducing arcing 'by reason of a simultaneous double break in the circuitconnected to the contacts. A still further object of this invention is the construction of a. toggle switch which is arranged to. break onecircuit and make another by means of a switch erates very rapidly.

.A still further object of this invention is the construction. of special contact members which are particularly adapted 'toprovide a wiping action for the switch arm.

"from the following description, are secured by means of this invention.

This inventionresides substantially in the construction, combination, arrangement and relative location of parts as will appear more fully from'the-following disclosure.

.Referring to the drawings- Figure 1 is-a front elevational view of one form of switch,

" Figure 2 is a top plan view of this switch,

Figure 3 is'a side elevational view of a modified form of switch, t Figure 4 is a front elevational view with some parts removed and some parts in cross section ofa second modification,

, center switch having one main bearing for simplicity with a secondary toggle bearing for throwing the switch arm after the oper- 5 ating member has moved over center. In the arm which op- These and other objects, as will appear- Figure 5 is a side View of the switch arm j 29, 1927; Serial maz'arsa attaching it to a support.' Mounted in the member 1 is a shaft 3 upon which is journalled a hollow operating member 4: having a projecting arm 5. A second insulating support '9 is mounted on the shaft or post 3' and the whole structure is held .in anv assembled arrangement by means of the nuts .6 which provide terminal connecting means fora circuit wire. 4

Two contact pinsor posts 7 and 8 are also mounted between the supports 1 and '9.

Pivotally mounted on the post 3 or within the operating member 4 is a arm 10 which is provided with notches 11 to increase the area contact of the arm with the contacts 7 and 8. ,A groove is cut in each ofv the contacts similar to that shown in Figure 3 and these notches are tapered so that a wiping contactis made with the ter minal contacts 7 and '8. A rod 12 is pivotally connected to the lever10 and is mounted to slide through a washer 14 mounted within the operating member against the action of the spring 15'. y p i As will be apparent from this disclosure, when the operating member (Figure 1) is swung between the supports about the post -3 it will snap the switch arm 10 from the leftto the right when the rod 12 is moved somewhat past the center path of its move-. ment. The spring 15 which is compressed up to the time when the arm 10 begins to move provides the energy for swinging the switch arm from one set of contatsto the other. This arrangementprovides a switch of the two-way type as does the other modifications.

Referring to Figure 3, the contact terminals, of which only-.one appears in this viewnamely 17, have a reduced portion 18 on which is slightly mounted the thimble 20 against the action of spring 21. Theend of the'thimble' 20 adjacent the shoulder on the terminal 17 and the shoulder itself are chamfered. It will be apparent that when 'the spring arm contacts with the terminals 17 a will force the thimble QOto the left to provide a wiping and, cleaniugeontact, Otherwise this switch is of the same construe tion as that shown in Figure 1.

In the arrangement of Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7 the switch arm comprises a conducting member 23, two spring fingers 24 spaced apart by the conducting member, and two members 22, all ofwhich' are clamped together to form a rigid switch arm. This.

switch arm is pivotally mounted on the bearing post 3 as before. The lower end of the conducting member 23 is somewhat enlarged as shown at 23' in Figure 4. Mount ed on the support 1 are two contacts 25 and 26 and mounted on the support 9 (Figure 6) are two contacts 27 and 28 which are respectively in alignment with the contacts 25 and 26. With this arrangement the spring fingers 24 are arranged to-slide between the respective sets of contacts which have round ends to provide a wiping and cleaning contact. Otherwise the construction of this switch is the same as that shown in Figure 1. From the foregoing disclosure it will be apparent that I have devised a new and novel form of toggle switch which is relatively simple in construction and which in the nor- "mal operation thereof. provides means for reducing arcing byreason of the wiping contact as well as a cleaning operation. I am well aware that many changes in the detailsof construction and relative arrangement of parts will readily occur to those skilled in the art and I do not, therefore, de-

sire to be limited except as required by the appended claims. v I \Vhat I seek to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. In a toggle switch a pair of supports,

a pivot post rigidly supporting said supports in spaced relation, contacts on said supports, a hollow member having a stop plate therein movably supported on said post, a switch arm pivoted onsa-id post "within said holin spaced relation, contacts on said supports,-

a hollow membermovably supported on said post, a switch arm pivoted on said post within said hollow member, a rod slidably mount-' ed in said' hollow member and pivotally. connected to said arm, and a spring encirrotated about said post 3. 'In a toggle switch construction the combination of two spaced supports, a pivot post for holding the spaced supports in fixed rela- I tion, a plurality of contact posts secured between. said spaced supports, said posts comprising a reduced portion on which is slidably mounted contact members under spring Y pressure, a'switch arm pivotally attached to said pivot post, a hollow member forming the switch handle also pivotally mountedoni ,said pivot post, a rod pivotally attached to said switch arm and extending into said hollow meniber and a compression spring encircling said rod whereby the switch arm is cling said rod abutting against said member to cause said arm to snap from one set of 1 contacts to another when said member is: g

snapped into wiping contact with said con f' -.tact posts when the hollow member is 110- tated. v

' In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand. on this 23rd day of September [PARIS FORMAN. 

